Leucaena Species, Goldenball Leadtree, Lemonball, Littleleaf Leadtree, Wahootree

I have this tree in my Las Vegas, NV yard in full sun. It's been in the ground for 2 years and doing well so far. It even survived...Read More last summer's temperatures of 120 degrees for several days and no rain. It's about 7-8 feet tall.

My landscaper originally installed four 1/2 gallon emitters around the tree's perimeter in addition to three at the root ball, and instructed me to turn off the root ball emitters after the first year. Last summer, it wasn't growing much and the leaf cover looked thin. Last fall, they changed the perimeter emitters to 1 gallon, doubling the water delivery. Within 2 weeks, the tree was pushing out new leaves and looked much happier. In mid-March 2025, it is leafing out and has flower buds already.

Now, I would like to know if the 4 emitters around the perimeter of the crown are enough, or should we add 4 more to give it a more even distribution of water? Does anyone know whether this tree wants the area directly around the trunk to be dry, or will it tolerate irrigation close to the root ball? I can turn the root ball emitters back on, but I don't want to do that if the tree really prefers dry feet.

My landscaper has little experience with this tree and is unable to answer my questions. For reference, it is extremely dry here, with normal summer humidity of less than 10%. Our average rainfall is 4 inches per year, and we can go months with no rain at all. Our normal summer monsoon season has become unreliable. I love this tree and want to help it grow and thrive. Thank you for any help you can give me.

I am a beekeeper. I went on a tour with Texas Master Gardeners today (May 7, 2016). The purpose of my going on the tour was to note the p...Read Morelants that were being visited by honeybees.

The first stop was a block away from my hives. I saw the Golden Ball Lead Tree in the yard with my bees all over it. I had been curious as to where they were getting the yellow pollen. I will have a few in my bee yard ASAP since I cannot rely on others to feed my bees.

The comment about bees not being interested in this tree does not agree with my observation.

They called it the Golden Lead Ball Tree.

A pretty little tree that does very well here in the desert. No thorns or insect problems; very clean. Flowers are mildly fragrant up-clo...Read Morese and not attractive to bees. It's a mystery why this tree is not more widely available here in Tucson.

We planted ours from a 1-gallon pot last year in bare soil. It took about a month for the tree to get comfortable and start growing. One year later we established a lawn around it, and it's not had any problems going from desert conditions to frequent lawn watering.

According to some sources this tree has brittle branches, but we've not had problems with our now 6' tall tree, not even after last week's 80 mph microburst! Growth rate is moderate and very easily controlled.

This tree tends to "lion tail" (bushy growth on branch ends, like a Dr. Seuss tree). I pinch out the growing tips to counteract this tendency. Our tree leafs out early with intensely spring-green foliage that never fails to draw compliments. If you're looking for a small, tropical-looking yet xeric tree near your pool or patio, consider this one.

We have one eight-year old specimen in our yard that receives maximum sunlight possible. Very upright habit with moderately spreading cr...Read Moreown, it's currently about 22-24' high, but added growth this year. Tidy tree by our experience-no yard litter from seeds or pods. It's in flower now, and is quite distinctive with the blooms at the branch tips. Would highly recommend it.